Give Thanks

Hello again,

First of all, my apologies for neglecting my blog for the last few weeks! My only excuse is time, or the lack of it! May was a busy month all round, what with activities in the store, together with demonstrations and prep, and my birthday (yep, another year older!)

I went to the theatre with my girls on Tuesday to see the stage production of Dirty Dancing (my birthday prezzie from both of them) and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I was squished in my seat for 2 hours (they certainly don't leave much leg room).

And today is my baby girl's birthday - we keep teasing her about being 'a quarter of a century', but then she just points out just how old I am then!! Lol. So, Happy Birthday Sammy - I am so proud of the young woman you have become and what you have achieved so far in life.

Now, onto crafting matters - I have a project today for the new theme at the Alphabet Challenge and for the next two weeks our Silvi has chosen 'Give Thanks' for the letter 'G'. So here is what I made ...

I love making this type of card - there are so many occasions when you can simply say 'Thank You' - it is only two little words, but can mean so much to someone.

The papers are scraps from my stash, and I made the greeting on my pc using two different fonts. A die-cut layer, some ribbon and a few flowers to finish off.

Hope you will come and join us at the challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

Puppy Love

Morning crafters,

Well, after a seven day run at work due to staff absence, I had a day off yesterday and did practically nothing - I was shattered! So, the food shop, the washing and the cleaning still remain, happily waiting for me to tackle them today! Ooo, I've also been to see the new film in the 'Fast & Furious' franchise - The Fate of the Furious - and they didn't let me down (despite the death of one of my favourite actors). I was literally on the edge of my seat right until the end - fantastic!

I did manage to pop into my craft room yesterday to make this little cutie though - I can always find time to craft, even when I'm shattered - did you notice that it was all the chores that I left until today!!! Lol.

We have a brand new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge today, and Caz has chosen 'DECOUPAGE' for the letter 'D'. It is absolutely ages since I did any 'proper' decoupage (I sometimes add a second layer to some of my stamped images), but this one is a traditional (although bought) set of decoupage from Anita's crafts by DoCrafts. Isn't he so cute?

I really enjoyed the layering (I prefer to use my 3D glue gel to get a more rounded shape) - hope you can see it properly in my photos.

I was a little sad when making it though, as the reason for the staff absence at work was one of my colleagues (who has become a really good friend) lost one of her beloved furbabies last weekend - so my heart goes out to her. And although my card is blue, I still thought about her little furball - RIP Milly.

Anyways, I hope you can pop over to the challenge blog and say 'Hi' and maybe join us with your own 'decoupaged' projects.

Enjoy your day,

Crafty hugz, Jan xx

Life's a Hoot!

Good morning and Happy St Patrick's Day,

I finally have one of my samples to show you today (yes, just one for now) and this one is for the Alphabet Challenge where we start back at the beginning of the alphabet today - so for the letter 'A' I chose the theme

'ANYTHING WITH WINGS'

Here's what I made using a couple of the brand new mixed media dies from Crafter's Companion which were launched during our recent birthday week with Hochanda.

The main mixed media die set used for the little owl is called 'Twit Twoo' and I cut him from black matt cardstock, then embossed all the pieces and treat them to a little gilding wax - I just love him!

I used a piece of design paper from my Tim Holtz paper pad that seemed to fit nicely with my theme, then added a die-cut border and a length of ribbon to create a perch for him to sit on. 

The whole piece is embellished with some die-cut leaves in felt and leather, using the 'Maple Leaves' mixed media die from the same launch, and I added a couple of felt flowers too. 

The 'Life's a Hoot' sentiment was created on my pc to finish off.

Hope you can join us with your own creations - there are so many ways to incorporate wings into your projects, I can't wait to see them all.

Hugz, Jan xx

What's in your Basket?

Good Morning,

I have my next DT project for you as we have a brand new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge today. This time Jackie has chosen a popular theme for the letter 'Y' - we are letting 'YOU CHOOSE' for this one, so pretty much anything goes.

Here's what I made from the brand new issue of the Crafter's Inspiration magazine which came out a couple of weeks ago ...

This cute little basket was much easier to make than I anticipated and is made from just one piece of A4 cardstock.

It's decorated with papers from the 'English Country Garden' range from Sara's Signature Collection. The flowers are die-cut from scraps of the papers using a die from the same range.

I added a couple of pearl strings to the handle, together with three little cute hanging hearts and another die-cut flower for decoration.

My little basket is currently residing in the Crafter's Companion shop as a sample, but I think it would also look very sweet full of candy or little chocolate eggs for Easter.

Hope you will come and join us with your own projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

V for Violet

Hello again,

Two days in a row! I have my next DT project today for the new theme at the Alphabet Challenge and this time Amy has chosen 'VIOLET' for the letter 'V'. So, here's what I made ...

This one is actually for a friend's 40th birthday later in the month (look at me getting organised!) but she doesn't use Blogger so won't see it here.

It's a 6" x 6" cream scalloped card blank covered with papers from my stash which have been distressed and inked around the edges.

The larger purple heart is cut with my Stampin' Up Bloomin' Heart die and then I have layered a second one which is cut from cream cardstock and has a little lilac one on top.

Embellishment include a piece of vintage lace, a stamped LOTV sentiment, some die-cut flowers and a piece of tied twine, along with some adhesive pearls/gems. Hope she likes it.

Hugz, Jan xx

Use Something Red

Hello again,

Well, the shopping still hasn't happened - I have been covering for my poorly colleague for most of the week, including today, but in return I have my first Saturday off tomorrow since starting my new job! So, I will definitely be making a start on the Christmas shopping - I have told them at work that I will not be answering my phone tomorrow! Lol.

So, I have my next DT project for the new theme at the Alphabet Challenge - this will be the last one for 2017 and we are up to the letter 'U'. The new theme will be

'USE SOMETHING RED'

A nice easy one which will fit in with Christmas, but I chose not to go there and had a play with my new Leonie Pujol stamp set. Here's what I made for a little inspiration ...

The stamp set is called 'Everlasting Love' - I coloured the leaves with alcohol markers and paper pieced the flower petals with some scraps of red design paper. I also used some glossy accents on the flower centres (but it doesn't show very well in my photo).

The stamped 'Wish' sentiment is from a freebie set on a magazine a while ago and I added a little die-cut red heart to finish off. 

The doodled border is also stamped using the same set.

Hope you can come and join us for our last challenge before Christmas.

Hugz, Jan xx

T for Trees

Hello again,

Well, back for the second day in a row - can't promise to keep this up! Lol.

We have a brand new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge today and Caz has chosen TREES for the letter 'T'. Here's what I made for a little inspiration ...

I saw a similar design while browsing Pinterest and loved the combination of purple and gold, so here is my version using some paper scraps from my stash. 

I used my Stampin' Up tree punch which matches the 'Festival of Trees' stamp set and cut out a few trees (although I had a giggle when I thought they looked like purple pyramids!) The one in the foreground is punched from some gold mat mirri card, then passed through an embossing folder.

I die-cut the 'Christmas' part of the 'Seasonal Sentiment' from Sara's Contemporary Christmas Signature Collection (love this one) to match and added a punched star and a couple of purple adhesive gems to finish off. Simples!

Right, off to tidy up and try and make some space in my craftroom now - wish me luck, I might be a while!!

Hugz, Jan xx

Do you believe in Magic?

Happy Friday,

We are off car shopping today - my hubby wants to upgrade our current car and buy a newer one. Why do I get so nervous when spending lots of money - I can spend it on craft supplies without any problem at all!

I have my next DT project for you today, for the next letter at the Alphabet Challenge and this time Pat has chosen the theme for the letter 'M'

'MYTHICAL'

So, here's what I created using one of my favourite digital images by Mitzi Sato-Wiuff ...

I absolutely love the idea of anything mythical or magical, and this little dragon fits the bill perfectly. I know I used him a while ago for a similar theme and couldn't believe it when I checked back that it was almost a year ago!!

I printed out the image six times and created a 3d decoupage effect in a box picture frame. He is coloured with my Promarkers and a little added sparkle from my gorgeous new Spectrum Sparkle pens from Crafter's Companion.

I printed the quote onto a piece of background paper cut to size, then added some distress ink in Dusty Concord, a couple of stamped corners and two little stamped dragonflies.

I also added a little extra colour to the natural frame.

Hugz, Jan xx

Love Heart Bag

Good Morning,

I hope everyone has had a good week - mine has been a very busy one this week (well, the last couple of days anyway). I am hoping to get back into my craftroom later today :)

We have a brand new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge today, and this time it was my turn to choose, so for the letter 'L' I chose

'L for LOVE'

This is such a generic theme and can be incorporated into so many occasions, so here's what I made for a little inspiration ...

I decided to have a change from cards this time, and decorated this little kraft coloured paper bag.

I used up some scraps of design paper from my stash and added some faux stamped stitching around the edge. The next layer is the gorgeous die cut 'Bloomin' Heart'  from Stampin' Up, which is cut from some rose coloured cardstock. I added a smaller heart next, which is raised on some dimensional pads, then the little stamped sentiment. 

Embellishments include a piece of pink polka dot ribbon, a length of string pearls, a couple of die-cut flowers (also from the 'Bloomin' Heart' set) and some adhesive pearls.

Hope you can join us with your own 'Love'ly' creations.

Hugz, Jan xx

Butterflies in Flight

Good morning,

I'm back today with my DT make for the new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge, and this time Jackie has chosen the theme of

'K for KINDNESS'

What a great reason to send a lovely hand crafted card, just to be kind - there are so many reasons I can think of. Here's what I made for a little inspiration ...

I decided to stay with the summery colours today and chose yellow and cream for a nice cheery look. 

I used a Sue Wilson Mini Striplet die called 'Butterflies in Flight', cutting it three times to make the background, then enclosed it in a little frame made from Creative Expressions Custard cardstock.

The flowers are stamped using a Honeydoo stamp set, then cut out and layered up with a little pearl centre. The die-cut butterflies are part of the Striplet die, and I added a stamped sentiment using my 'Sassy Salutations' set from Stampin' Up.

Why not come and join us - I'm sure there is a reason to send a 'Kindness' card to someone you know.

Hugz, Jan xx

In the Jungle

Hello there,

First of all, it just wouldn't be right not to say 'Happy Birthday' to my big girl who is 27 today (how old do I feel!!) Lol. We are off to the cinema later to see 'The Legend of Tarzan' - ooo, yummy Mr Skarsgard in a loincloth!

I'm back on schedule today and have a brand new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge - this week Amy has chosen for the letter 'J' ...

'JUNGLE ANIMALS'

Here's what I made for a little inspiration using an old set of Kanban stamps ...

Quite a simple design this time because I was rushing to catch up! I love the expression on his face - I seem to look like that most of the time at the minute! Confused, that is - not hairy!! 

He is stamped in black ink and coloured with my Promarkers. Everything looked a little dark, so I lifted it with a hint of blue.

If you have a minute, why not pop over to the challenge and check out some more great inspiration.

Hugz, Jan xx

Ink it Up

Hello there,

It's Friday again already, so it's time for our next letter over at the Alphabet Challenge. Caz has chosen the theme for the letter 'I'

'INK IT UP'

So, here's what I made for my DT inspiration - I loved getting all inky with this one ...

I began with a piece of white cardstock and added some texture paste through my brick wall stencil. 

Once dry I used my ink dusters to apply Aged Mahogany and Tea Dye distress inks to cover the whole piece of card, leaving a lighter section in the middle.

Next I stamped the flowers at the bottom, together with the leaves in the top corner. I added a little colour to the flowers using a pink Promarker and then applied a few touches of glitter. 

The sentiment is from Inkylicious and is stamped using black archival ink.

I thought the two little dragonfly brads just finished the piece of nicely.

Hope you will come and join us with your own 'inky' creations - the challenge is open until 7th July.

Hugz, Jan xx

The Letter H

Happy Friday,

Well, I fell off my diet in spectacular style last night as we celebrated my baby girl's 24th birthday at Frankie & Bennies! 24! How did that happen? She is now a beautiful young woman and has just about finished her PGCE and has secured a Secondary School Maths teaching post from September - but she will always be my baby girl, and I am so incredibly proud of her.

Over at the Alphabet Challenge today we have a brand new theme for the letter 'H', and Emma has chosen

'H for HAND COLOURED IMAGE'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration (which is Sam's birthday card for yesterday) ...

Both of my girls have been so supportive of my crafting, and have both followed in my footsteps (so my crafting stash is always being raided!) Lol.

I have been making their birthday cards for the last 15 years or so, and they both look forward to seeing what I come up with each year.

This one is so typically my style (and made in Sam's favourite colour), using one of my favourite stamp companies - the image is LOTV 'Pretty Parade' and is coloured with my Promarkers.

The design papers and all other embellishments are from my stash and the little stamped sentiment is also LOTV.

I hope you can join us over at the challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

G for Girlie

Good morning,

Well, I made it to the end of the half term, albeit with some devastating news yesterday, but I will tell you about it when I get my head around it! It sure has put a dark cloud over my week's break (which I was so looking forward to).

It's time for the next letter over at the Alphabet Challenge and this time Tammy has chosen

'G for GIRLIE'

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration, using my new 'Bloomin' Heart' Die from Stampin' Up ...

Design paper is from my stash, the heart is die-cut from cream cardstock and I included some pink polka dot ribbon, a stamped butterfly and a stamped sentiment (also Stampin' Up). The added little pink flowers are also part of the die set, and I cut them from some of the leftover design paper scraps to co-ordinate with the card. 

I hope you can join us with your own 'girlie' themed projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

F for Furry Friends

Happy Friday,

Well, it's my day off today and I have to go for treatment for my back, then do the grocery shop - now that's a mis-matched set of activities! Hope my back survives!

I have a new DT project for you today, as we launch the next theme over at the Alphabet Challenge. We are up to the letter 'F' and Tammy has chosen the theme

'F for FURRY FRIENDS'

Now who doesn't have a stamp/image for this one - I have hundreds!! Here's what I made ...

Yep! You spotted the LOTV stamp - I love this one, but then I love them all! It's called 'Fabulous Flower' and is coloured mainly with my Promarkers, but the actual flower is paper pieced using a left over piece of the design paper used in the background layers (which is also LOTV - Heartfelt).

The greeting is also LOTV (gosh, I'm getting boring now!) but they make such pretty cards.

I added a piece of pink organza ribbon, some cute little die-cut flowers and some adhesive pearls. Oh, and did you spot the button as a centre for the flower?

Why not pop over and check out what my team made - there are some fabulous projects for your inspiration.

Hope to see you there,

Hugz, Jan xx

E for Embossing Folders

Hi there,

Well, I still woke up at 6.30 am today, despite it being my day off - but I am looking forward to my four day weekend and lots of crafting (I am way behind, as usual)!

I have a new project today for the next theme at the Alphabet Challenge and we are up to the letter 'E' - my teamie, Silvi has chosen

'E for EMBOSSING FOLDERS'

Here's what I made using a new Stampin' Up embossing folder ...

This is a cool technique where you actually stamp onto the flat areas of the embossing folder before you emboss, allowing the stamp to 'peep' through the embossing.

The owl stamp is part of a freebie set that I got on a magazine purchase and I think they are just perfect form my 'Woodland Texture' embossing folder. So I stamped in sepia ink straight onto the embossing folder, then carefully placed my piece of card inside and embossed through my Calibur.

I inked the edges and the raised tree trunk areas first with Tea Dye distress ink, then added some Gathered Twigs for a little depth - you can see where it has caught parts of the trunks and brought them to life. I also added a little colour to the owls with my Derwent coloured pencils.

The cute little sentiment is from the same freebie set and I had to add a few adhesive pearls to finish off!

Hope you will come and join us over at the challenge.

Hugz, Jan xx

D for Dots

Happy Friday,

Well, I made it through my second week back at school, albeit an unbelievably hectic one!

We are planning to try and go out for some lunch on Sunday - the first time since we lost mum, not sure how it will go, but we are all agreed that mum wouldn't want us all moping around the house. So Harvester here we come!

I have another DT project for you today, for the next theme over at the Alphabet Challenge. We are upto the letter 'D' and Helen has chosen the theme

'D for DOTS'

So I am running a little late today, but here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

I used two different 'dotty' papers from my stash and some brown polka dot ribbon too, for my 'Dots'. I didn't feel like colouring today, so challenged myself to create something without an image on.

Most of the card uses up scraps that were left over from other projects - half a doily, some die-cut flowers and I added a couple of candi dots just for fun. The stamped sentiment is from my Stampin' Up 'Sassy Salutations' set.

I have a new Design Team member joining the Alphabet family today, so if you have a minute, why not pop over to the main challenge blog HERE and say hello.

Hugz, Jan xx

C is for Cats

Good morning,

I hope no-one has fallen for any April Fool jokes this morning - I must say I'm glad I'm not at school, the children always manage to get me!! Lol.

Over at the Alphabet Challenge today, we are ready for the next letter and Pat has chosen the theme

* C for CATS *

Here's what I made using a cute little digital image ...

I coloured the cute little cat with my Promarkers and added a quirky sentiment on my PC. The design paper is from my 'Blank Canvas' paper pad by First Edition - I love the yummy pastel shades in this one and chose the peppermint one to go with my little grey cat. How could you be annoyed with that little face for pinching the flower?! Embellishments include a piece of co-ordinating satin ribbon, a hand made paper bow and a couple of adhesive pearls.

Hope you will come and join us with your own projects.

Hugz, Jan xx

B for Beautiful Butterflies

Good morning,

We have a brand new theme over at the Alphabet Challenge today and the next letter is 'B' for

'BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES'.

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration ...

This one is a home decor project and uses a natural wood box frame.

I cut an aperture in the piece of ivory card, then backed it with a piece of spotty design paper to make the background.

I die-cut lots of little butterflies from a selection of brown tone scraps and arranged them across the centre.

It was quite quick to do, but I think it looks really effective.

Hugz, Jan xx

A for Anything Pink!

Good morning,

Well, it's Friday again - it sure does come round quick! It's been a very busy week with lots of things happening once again, including my daughter crashing her car yesterday! She is fine, but sadly I don't think her car will survive - it's currently with the insurance company and my OH seems to think they will write it off, so once we have the ok from them, it's off car hunting we will go.

On a crafty note, it's time for us to begin our alphabet once again over at the Alphabet Challenge, and this time it was my turn to choose the theme. So, for the next two weeks we would love to see your projects that are

'A for ANYTHING PINK!'

This has to be once of my favourite colours when crafting, and I think I went a little overboard with my mixed media project - here's what I came up with for my DT inspiration ...

First, I had a rummage through my stash and chose lots of bits and pieces to play with.

I began with a piece of thick cardstock which measures 18cm x 18cm, then covered it with my chosen pink design paper from my 'Heartfelt' LOTV paper pad. I inked around all four edges with Spun Sugar distress ink.

Next, I added some texture paste through a piece of sequin waste, then once dry dusted over with the same pink distress ink so it toned in with the background paper.

I dyed a length of white lace with the same ink - just squidging the ink on my craft mat and spritzing it with water, then using the lace to soak it all up. This was attached to the background piece before I added the heart, which is also covered with a different piece of design paper from the same paper pad - I love the crackled effect on this one.

Then I went to town with all the different embellishments I found, including lots of die-cut flowers, some pink buttons, a few little book paper circles (which I punched and coloured with a Promarker), a cute little wooden frame (which I painted with pink chalk paint and added a sentiment inside), the wooden lettering 'love' (which was painted then glittered), a couple of die-cut butterflies and lots of adhesive pearls and crystals.

The whole thing is mounted on a layer of white, then another piece of pink cardstock and voila! Definitely lots of Pink!! When I asked my OH if he liked it - he said, 'I suppose it's ok if you like pink!' I think that was a result. Lol.

I hope you love 'Pink' as much as I do and can find time to come and play along with us at the challenge this time.

Hugz, Jan xx